Online poker in the USA: legal states, offshore sites and sweepstakes

Online poker in the USA is legal and running in six states: Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Delaware and West Virginia. Three more, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine, have laws that allow it but no poker sites yet. Everywhere else, players use offshore sites or sweepstakes poker, and both come with real risks; ten states have banned sweepstakes casinos and poker since 2025.

This guide covers the federal laws in plain terms, every state with legal sites and which operators run there, how players are pooled across state lines, where PokerStars, WSOP and GGPoker fit, and what offshore and sweepstakes sites mean for your money. It’s general information, not legal advice; laws change, and the dates below are from our check in November 2026.

How US online poker got here

The current patchwork makes more sense with the history behind it. The short version: an unregulated boom, a federal crackdown, and a slow rebuild one state at a time.

• 2003: Chris Moneymaker, an amateur who qualified through an online satellite, wins the WSOP Main Event. Millions of Americans start playing online, almost all on sites licensed abroad.
• 2006: Congress passes UIGEA. Some big sites, including PartyPoker, leave the US market; PokerStars and Full Tilt stay.
• 2011: On April 15, Black Friday, federal prosecutors shut PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker out of the US. In December, the Justice Department publishes an opinion that the Wire Act covers only sports betting.
• 2012–2013: Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey pass laws, and all three are dealing hands by the end of 2013.
• 2017–2019: New Jersey joins the interstate agreement; Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan pass their own laws.
• 2019–2021: Pennsylvania goes live in 2019 and Michigan in 2021. The First Circuit limits the Wire Act to sports betting.
• 2024–2026: NSUS buys the WSOP brand, Pennsylvania joins the interstate agreement, West Virginia gets its first poker site, PokerStars moves to FanDuel, and states start banning sweepstakes sites.

In more than twenty years, the number of states with live sites has grown from zero to six. Each one took its own law, its own regulator and, usually, years of debate.

Is online poker legal in the US?

There’s no single answer, because the US has no federal online poker license. Federal law sets the outer limits, and each state decides whether to license online poker inside its borders. A state can allow it, ban it outright, or say nothing specific.

For players, that means the question is always “legal where?” A New Jersey resident can play on licensed sites at home. The same person driving into New York can’t, because New York hasn’t licensed online poker.

The Wire Act

The Wire Act of 1961 makes it a federal crime for a betting business to use wire communications to take bets across state lines. For decades nobody agreed whether it covered poker and casino games or only sports bets.

In 2011 the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel said it covered only sports betting, which opened the door for states to license online poker. In a 2018 opinion the same office reversed course and said it covered all gambling. New Hampshire’s lottery sued, and on January 20, 2021, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting (the decision). The government’s deadline to ask the Supreme Court to review it passed in June 2021, and it didn’t file.

The stakes were high. Read the 2018 way, the Wire Act would have made it a crime for a licensed site to send poker data across state lines, which would have ended shared player pools and could have touched even in-state sites using servers in another state.

The ruling binds only the courts of that circuit, but in practice states have kept licensing online poker and linking their player pools since then.

UIGEA

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 targets the money, not the players. It bars gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments for gambling that’s illegal where the bet is placed (31 U.S.C. § 5363). It doesn’t make it a crime to play.

Its real effect is on banking. Card payments to unlicensed sites get blocked, and that’s why offshore sites lean on crypto and other payment routes.

What this means for you as a player

In most states, no law specifically punishes an individual for playing poker online, and prosecutions of players have been almost unheard of. The legal risk sits with the operators. Your practical risk is different: an unlicensed site holds your money with no US regulator watching.

Washington State is the exception to watch. Its law makes knowingly transmitting or receiving gambling information over the internet a class C felony (RCW 9.46.240). Offshore sites such as ACR refuse Washington players for this reason. Don’t play real-money online poker from Washington.

States where you can play legally right now

Six states license online poker and have sites running. The table shows who operates in each one and whether its players share tables with other states. Every licensed site requires you to be 21 or older and physically inside the state while you play.

DraftKings also runs a three-handed jackpot game called Electric Poker inside its casino app in Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, pooled across the three since July 2026. It’s a single game type, not a full poker site.

New Jersey

New Jersey launched online poker in November 2013 and has the most choice of any state. PokerStars, which ran its own New Jersey site for years, has operated here as PokerStars on FanDuel since April 1, 2026, sharing tables with Michigan and Pennsylvania. WSOP shares its pool with Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and BetMGM and Borgata run on one network that also covers Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Sites are licensed through Atlantic City casinos and regulated by the Division of Gaming Enforcement. New Jersey has also banned sweepstakes casinos and poker since August 15, 2025, so the licensed sites are the only legal option.

With about 9 million residents and New York City and Philadelphia just across its borders, New Jersey has a busy market for its size. Players here can enter WSOP’s online bracelet events each summer, shared with the other three WSOP states. Choose PokerStars on FanDuel or WSOP for the biggest tournaments, and compare cash-game traffic between them at the hours you play.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania passed its law in 2017, and PokerStars dealt the first hands in November 2019. It has the widest set of operators: PokerStars on FanDuel, WSOP, BetMGM, Borgata and BetRivers Poker. For years its players were walled off from other states; that ended when Pennsylvania signed the interstate agreement in April 2025.

Within days, WSOP added Pennsylvania to its Nevada, New Jersey and Michigan pool on April 28, 2025. BetRivers followed in June 2025 by linking Pennsylvania with Michigan, Delaware and West Virginia. The regulator is the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

With around 13 million people, Pennsylvania is the most populous of the six states, and its players make up a big share of every pool they join. Sites here are licensed through the state’s land-based casinos. If you live near a border, remember the check is on where you are: a short drive into New York or Ohio, and the tables close.

Michigan

Michigan legalized online poker in 2019 and went live on January 29, 2021, with PokerStars first. Today it has PokerStars on FanDuel, WSOP, BetMGM and BetRivers. Michigan joined the interstate agreement in 2022, and every one of its poker sites now shares players with at least one other state.

Offshore ACR doesn’t accept Michigan residents, so licensed sites regulated by the Michigan Gaming Control Board are the realistic choice here.

Michigan licenses run through the state’s commercial casinos and tribal casinos; BetRivers, for example, operates through the Little River Casino Resort. With about 10 million people, Michigan is the second-biggest market of the six.

Nevada

Nevada dealt the first legal online poker hand in the US on April 30, 2013, on a site called Ultimate Poker, which closed the following year. Today WSOP is the only online poker site in the state. Its Nevada players share tables with New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Nevada licenses poker only, not online casino games. The Nevada Gaming Control Board regulates it.

With one site, Nevada’s online game depends on WSOP’s shared pool, and it gets busiest each summer, when the WSOP runs in Las Vegas and visitors from around the world pass through. Visitors can register and play while in the state, as long as they’re 21 or older.

Delaware

Delaware launched in November 2013, with its online games run through the state lottery. At the end of 2023 the state switched its provider from 888 to Rush Street Interactive, and online poker went dark for about a year and a half. It came back in June 2025 as BetRivers Poker, now pooled with Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia.

Online gaming in Delaware is run by the Delaware Lottery together with the state’s three racetrack casinos. With under a million residents it’s the smallest of the six markets, which is exactly why the 2023 switch of provider took poker offline for so long: a small state needs a partner willing to connect it to others.

West Virginia

West Virginia’s law allowed online poker from 2019, but no operator dealt a hand until BetRivers Poker launched in June 2025. It’s still the only poker site in the state. West Virginia had joined the interstate agreement in November 2023, so it launched straight into the four-state BetRivers pool.

The West Virginia Lottery regulates online gaming, and licenses are tied to the state’s casinos. With fewer than 2 million residents, West Virginia shows the same lesson as Delaware: a state can legalize online poker and still wait years for a site, until an operator can connect it to a bigger pool.

Signing up and paying at a licensed US site

Joining a licensed site takes a few more steps than an international one, mainly because of the identity and location checks. The usual order:

1. Register with your real name, date of birth, address and, usually, the last four digits of your Social Security number. The site checks these against public records, so typos cause most failed sign-ups.
2. Allow location checks. On a phone that means location services; on a computer the site asks you to install a small location plugin. The check runs whenever you play.
3. Deposit with a method in your own name. Licensed sites commonly accept debit and credit cards, online bank transfers, PayPal and branded prepaid cards, and some let you deposit cash at the partner casino’s cage. The list differs by site and state.
4. Claim a welcome offer if you want one, and read how it clears: most release the bonus gradually as you pay rake.

Withdrawals go back to the same method where possible, after the site confirms your identity. Licensed US sites hold player money under state rules, which is the main practical difference from offshore sites: if something goes wrong, a state regulator handles the complaint. Our guide to how to play poker online walks through a first session step by step.

Which licensed site to pick

In the states with more than one site, the choice comes down to what you play:

• Biggest tournaments: PokerStars on FanDuel and WSOP run the largest guarantees in the regulated market. WSOP also awards official WSOP bracelets in online events each year, open to players in its four states.
• Most cash-game traffic: usually the site with the biggest pool in your state; in New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania that’s often PokerStars on FanDuel or WSOP. Check the lobby at the hours you play.
• A software feature: BetRivers Poker runs on software built by Run It Once Poker, with a built-in stats tool; it’s the only option in Delaware and West Virginia anyway.
• Rewards: each site has its own loyalty scheme, and FanDuel’s ties poker to its sportsbook and casino rewards.

Welcome offers at licensed sites usually take one of two forms: a deposit match released step by step as you pay rake, or free tournament tickets and small cash rewards for your first hands. The terms, including how long you have to clear a bonus, differ by state even on the same site, because each state approves promotions separately. Read how a bonus clears before letting it decide where you play; our guides to the first deposit bonus and rakeback show how to value one. A site with more players at your stakes is often worth more over a year than a bigger welcome offer.

Many players keep accounts on two sites in their state: one for tournaments, one for cash games, and more tables to choose from when traffic is thin.

The biggest states without legal online poker

Most searches for US online poker come from states where it isn’t licensed. The situation in the largest of them, during our check:

• California: no online poker law, despite bills going back well over a decade, and sweepstakes casinos and poker banned since January 1, 2026. Card rooms and tribal casinos offer live poker only.
• Texas: no online poker or online casino law, and no regulated sports betting either. Live poker runs in private card clubs that operate on membership fees.
• Florida: the state’s compact with the Seminole Tribe covers online sports betting, not online poker or casino games.
• New York: online sports betting is legal, but online poker bills have been filed for years without passing, and sweepstakes poker has been banned since December 5, 2025.
• Illinois, Ohio and Massachusetts: online sports betting is legal, online poker is not.

In all of these, the choice is between offshore sites, sweepstakes sites where they’re still allowed, live poker, and free play. None of them has a licensed online option that a state regulator stands behind.

Legal on paper, no poker yet: Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine

Three more states have laws that cover online poker but no poker sites running. The reason is mostly business: a small state’s player pool can’t support a poker site on its own, and none of these states can currently share players.

• Connecticut legalized online gaming, including poker, in 2021. Its online casinos run, but no operator has launched poker.
• Rhode Island allows online casino games through Bally’s, its only operator, which hasn’t offered poker.
• Maine passed a law in January 2026, without the governor’s signature, that took effect in July 2026. It gives the four Wabanaki Nations exclusive rights to online casino games and poker. In June 2026 Caesars signed deals with three of them for online casino brands; poker wasn’t mentioned. The law doesn’t let Maine join the interstate agreement, so any poker would be in-state only. In October 2026 the state regulator said a launch in the first quarter of 2027 was more realistic than the end of 2026.

Shared player pools: how MSIGA works

The Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, MSIGA, lets member states combine their online poker players on the same tables. Each site still needs a license in every state it serves, and you still have to be inside one of those states to play. The agreement just lets a player in Michigan sit at the same table as one in New Jersey.

Joining the agreement doesn’t connect anything by itself. Each operator decides which of its state sites to link, and needs approval to do it. That’s why pools differ by site:

• WSOP: Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania since April 28, 2025).
• PokerStars on FanDuel: New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania (since April 1, 2026).
• BetMGM and Borgata: New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
• BetRivers Poker: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Delaware and West Virginia (since June 2025).

The pool matters because poker needs players. A bigger pool means more tables running at more stakes and hours, bigger tournament guarantees, and more recreational players at the tables. Even the biggest US pool, though, is far smaller than the international pools of GGPoker or PokerStars.com.

The agreement also has limits worth knowing. It doesn’t let a player in a non-member state join; it doesn’t create a single national license; and it covers only states that sign up. A future member such as Maine would also need its own law to allow it, which the current Maine law doesn’t.

PokerStars, WSOP and GGPoker in the US

The three biggest names in poker each have a different US story, and it’s easy to get them mixed up.

PokerStars. PokerStars ran its own sites in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan for years. On March 31, 2026, the old software went offline, and on April 1 PokerStars reopened as PokerStars on FanDuel: new software, a new FanDuel account and app, and a single pool across the three states. Both brands belong to Flutter. PokerStars.com, the international site, doesn’t accept US players at all. More in our PokerStars review.

WSOP. NSUS, the company behind GGPoker, bought the World Series of Poker brand from Caesars in a deal that closed on October 29, 2024. Caesars kept a license to run WSOP’s real-money online poker in Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania. So the WSOP site you play in those states is operated by Caesars under the WSOP name.

GGPoker. GGPoker itself isn’t licensed in any US state and doesn’t accept US players. Owning the WSOP brand doesn’t change that. Our guides to GGPoker countries and GGPoker vs PokerStars cover the international side.

How safe are licensed US sites?

A state license comes with obligations that offshore sites don’t have. The details vary by state, but the main protections are similar:

• Your balance is protected. Regulators require sites to hold enough money to cover player balances, kept apart from what the company spends on running the business.
• The software is tested. Card shuffling and game software are checked by approved testing labs before a site launches and after major changes.
• Disputes have somewhere to go. If a site won’t pay or closes your account unfairly, you can complain to the state regulator, which can fine the operator or take its license.
• Limits and self-exclusion are built in. Licensed sites must offer deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion, and several states run their own online self-exclusion lists.

None of that guarantees a site will never have problems. It does mean that when something goes wrong, there’s a body in your state with the power to act, which is exactly what offshore players lack.

How to tell a licensed site from an offshore one

Offshore sites often use American-sounding names, and some advertise in states where they aren’t licensed. A few checks tell you which kind of site you’re looking at:

• The regulator. A licensed site names its state regulator and license in the page footer, such as the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement or the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. An offshore site names a foreign authority, such as Anjouan, Curaçao or a First Nation commission.
• The location check. A licensed site won’t let you play until it has confirmed you’re inside the state. An offshore site lets you play from anywhere it accepts.
• The age and identity checks. Licensed sites require 21+ and check your Social Security number at sign-up. Offshore sites often ask for documents only when you withdraw.
• Where it says it operates. Licensed sites list the states they’re licensed in. If a site accepts players “from most states”, it isn’t licensed by any of them.

You can confirm a licensed site directly: every state regulator publishes a list of approved online operators on its website.

Playing on offshore sites

In the 44 states without licensed poker, many players use offshore sites: companies licensed abroad that accept US players. They aren’t licensed in any US state, and their legal status for players depends on the state.

Look at the terms, not marketing pages, to see who a site accepts. ACR Poker’s terms exclude nine states: Washington, Kentucky, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada and New Jersey, leaving 41 states and DC. CoinPoker’s terms don’t accept US players. Offshore licenses come from places like Anjouan, which issues licenses quickly and gives players little recourse.

The history is a warning. On April 15, 2011, known as Black Friday, the US government shut down PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker for US players. Full Tilt didn’t have the money to pay its players back, and US players waited nearly three years, until early 2014, for the first repayments. Our article on Black Friday tells the full story.

At offshore sites, verification usually happens when you withdraw, not when you sign up. Read the withdrawal rules and limits before depositing, keep your first deposit small, and complete identity checks early so your first cash-out isn’t held up.

If you do choose an offshore site, our ACR Poker review covers its license, payments and the risks in detail, and the ACR bonus guide explains how its welcome offer clears.

Deposits and withdrawals at offshore sites

Because UIGEA pushes banks to block payments to unlicensed gambling sites, US cards often fail at offshore sites, or work one week and not the next. That’s why crypto has become the main route: Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins such as USDT move without a bank in the middle.

Crypto brings its own costs. You pay exchange and network fees each way, and a coin like Bitcoin can lose value between deposit and withdrawal unless you use a stablecoin. Withdrawals are usually faster than old-style bank wires or mailed checks, but the first one is often held until the site has checked your identity. Read the site’s limits and fees for each method before you deposit, and test the route with a small withdrawal early.

Sweepstakes poker and where it’s banned

Sweepstakes poker sites use two currencies. One is bought or given away for fun and has no cash value. The other, usually called sweeps coins, comes free with purchases or by mail request, and can be redeemed for cash prizes. Because you never “buy” the prize currency directly, operators argue they run promotions, not gambling, and they’ve worked without state gaming licenses.

You can spot a sweepstakes site by its two balances, usually called “gold coins” and “sweeps coins” or something similar, and by the “no purchase necessary” line in its terms. The poker itself is usually real: cash games and tournaments against other players. What differs is the legal wrapper, and that’s what states have started to close.

States have pushed back hard since 2025. The table lists the states that have banned sweepstakes casinos and poker by law, with the date each ban took effect.

Operators have also left states without a ban. Global Poker, the biggest sweepstakes poker site, wasn’t available in Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Washington or West Virginia by late 2025, and left California and Tennessee as their bans arrived. ClubWPT Gold left New Jersey, Connecticut, Louisiana and, in September 2026, Nevada; it returned to New York in January 2026 under a changed model.

Redeeming a prize balance has its own rules. Sites usually require each sweeps coin to be played through once before it can be redeemed, set a minimum amount for a redemption, and check your identity before the first one. Redemptions are paid by bank transfer or similar methods and can take days. Read those terms before you rely on a sweepstakes balance being easy to cash out.

A ban targets the operator, not you, but it still affects your money. When a site leaves a state, it sets a deadline to redeem prize balances; after that, what’s left may be lost. If you play sweepstakes poker in a state with a bill under debate, redeem regularly instead of letting a balance build.

Free poker without the legal questions

Play-money poker is legal everywhere in the US, because nothing you win has cash value. PokerStars and WSOP both run free apps that are separate from their real-money products, and social poker apps let you play with friends for virtual chips.

Free games are good for learning the rules, testing an app, or a casual game with friends. They teach little strategy, because players call and shove far more when the chips cost nothing. If you want practice that resembles real games, low-stakes real-money tables in a licensed state, or freerolls on a licensed site, come closer. Our guide to poker freerolls explains how free tournaments with real prizes work.

Rules you’ll run into at US sites

Licensed US sites work under stricter rules than international ones. Expect these:

• Age 21. The minimum in all six states.
• Geolocation. Sites check your physical location every time you play, using your phone’s location services or a small plugin on a computer. What counts is where you are, not where you live: a visitor can play, a resident who leaves the state can’t.
• Identity checks. Sites confirm your identity when you sign up, usually with your Social Security number’s last digits and address, and may ask for documents.
• One account per person, with your real name; payments must come from accounts in your name.
• No VPNs or location spoofing. Sites detect them, and the result is a closed account and, often, a frozen balance.

If you need help with gambling, the national helpline 1-800-GAMBLER is free to call, and every licensed site links to its own state’s resources. Set a deposit limit when you open the account, not after a bad session; our responsible gambling page lists more tools and help.

Gambling winnings, including poker, are taxable income at the federal level, and most states tax them too. From the 2026 tax year, a federal law passed in 2025 limits deductible gambling losses to 90% of your losses, and only up to your winnings, for players who itemize; Congress is considering a repeal. Keep records of your sessions and check with a tax professional for your situation.

If you travel or move between states

Your account goes with you, but the right to play doesn’t. Licensed sites check where you are each time you sit down:

• Travelling to another legal state: you can play there on that state’s version of a site you use, or open an account with a site licensed there.
• Travelling to a state without legal poker: the tables won’t open. You can usually still log in to check your balance or request a withdrawal.
• Moving house: update your address with the site, since identity checks compare it with public records, and expect a new check if you move to another state.

Offshore sites don’t check location the same way, but their terms still exclude certain states. Playing from an excluded state breaks those terms, whatever the software lets you do.

Myths about online poker in the US

A few beliefs come up again and again, and each one can cost players money or trouble.

• “Federal law bans playing poker online.” It doesn’t. The Wire Act, as the courts now read it, covers sports betting, and UIGEA targets payments to operators. The rules that matter for players are state laws.
• “If a site accepts me, it must be legal where I am.” Offshore sites accept players from states where no license exists, and their own terms still exclude some states. Being let in tells you about the site’s business, not the law.
• “A VPN solves it.” Licensed sites detect VPNs and close accounts, and offshore sites ban them in their terms. A VPN doesn’t change the law where you’re sitting.
• “Sweepstakes poker is legal everywhere.” Ten states have banned it by law since 2025, and operators have left others.
• “WSOP online is GGPoker.” NSUS, GGPoker’s parent, owns the WSOP brand, but WSOP’s US sites are run by Caesars under license, on their own player pool.

What could change next

US online poker moves slowly, but several things were in motion during our check in November 2026:

• Maine may launch online casino games in 2027. Poker isn’t confirmed, and it couldn’t join a shared pool under the current law.
• Virginia came close to legalizing online casino games and poker in 2026; the bills died at the end of the session, with the debate set to return in 2027.
• California, the biggest prize, has no online poker framework, and no bill has passed.
• More sweepstakes bans are under debate in other states, and Virginia’s stalled ban returns in 2027.
• New pools. With Pennsylvania in MSIGA, operators can link more of their state sites, and any new state that joins adds players to the existing pools.

Laws change fast in this area, so check a state’s regulator before you rely on any one source, this one included.

State-by-state quick reference

For a quick check, here’s every state grouped by its status during our check. “Sweepstakes banned” means a state law in force; in other states, sweepstakes sites decide for themselves where they operate.

Iowa passed a 2026 law that tightens gambling enforcement and may reach sweepstakes sites; check its current position before playing there. A state in the last row isn’t automatically a safe place to play offshore. Several of them, such as Kentucky, Maryland and Mississippi, are excluded by ACR’s own terms, and some, such as Idaho, aren’t served by the major sweepstakes sites. Check the site’s terms for your state first. Our guide to the best poker sites shows which site to pick once you know what’s open to you, and the best poker apps covers playing on a phone.

US online poker FAQ